Around June 4, 1942

Floral gardens in Detroit were very popular during the early half of the 20th century. From growing flowers in backyards to expos, gardens represented the importance of the city being a fast growing urban area. Starting in 1906, nearly 7,000 school children planted, grew, and exhibited flowers with the support of city clubs, showing the prominence of home-gardening. Not only was gardening a...

At the turn of the 20th century, Delray was defined by heavy industry and smoke stacks. Because of where they lived, residents were trapped in the middle of an industrial playground and subjected to poor housing policies. In 1909, Dr. Leo H. Herbert, the founder of the Detroit Tuberculosis Sanatorium, along with other renowned physicians of the time, spoke out against Detroit’s neglect...

In August 1862, Jennie Hodgers enlisted in the 95th Illinois infantry with the name Albert Cashier. In 1862, a citizen of Illinois said, “they surely must want soldiers badly, if they take that little fellow at the end of the line.” He spoke of Jennie Hodgers who was amongst other recruits. During her time in the army, she fought in a multitude of battles, and she continued to masquerade...

On July 16, 1943, an African American soldier was on his way home to LaGrange, Georgia to visit his wife and infant. He was traveling by bus from Charleston, South Carolina which made a stop in Augusta, Georgia. He got off to stretch his legs and as soon as he took his seat again the driver told him to get off without giving him an explanation. The soldier proceeded to the driver what the problem...

In 1943, racial tensions were high as more and more African Americans left the South in pursuit of a new life and new opportunities in the North. Many African Americans hoped to leave their agricultural and rural roots in the South for a more urban lifestyle in the nation's larger and more industrialized cities. Large urban centers such as Detroit strained to accommodate the massive influx of people,...

In 1938, author Hal Walton released a published circular entitled “THE LINDBERGH CASE: GOD SAVE THE KING.” Walton’s circular focused on the Lindbergh baby kidnapping of March 1, 1932, and pointed out so-called contradictions in the official story of the kidnapping. The author believed that the eight-year old case involved more than simply a routine kidnapping for ransom and was, instead,...

Over 70 years ago, Faiza Abdul-Wahab’s father, Khaled, rescued several Jewish families from German troops occupying the town of Mahdia, Tunisia. After the occupation commenced in November 1942, Nazi and Vichy leaders in Tunisia enacted a set of anti-Semitic laws similar to those in Europe. According to the sources found in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archive, these...

On November 23, 1942, German soldiers arrested prominent Jewish leaders across Tunisia. When Moises Burgel, the President of the Tunisian Jewish community, was arrested, it marked the beginning of the Holocaust in North Africa. By the end of November, Nazi Germany had occupied all of Tunisia and enacted anti-Semitic laws in addition to the Vichy laws already in place. According to the sources found...

A soldier stationed at Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida, wrote to a newspaper reporter about the conditions that they were forced to live in and the treatment that they were subjected to. For the first two weeks the troops did nothing. After this they were ordered to clean the white officer’s rooms including their beds and latrines. The troops ranking from Majors, Sergeants, and CPl were not allowed...

This trial has everyone paying attention. It is no wonder; the right to display pin-up art in men’s magazines is on trial. Post Master General Walker is in Supreme Court against Arnold Gingrich and various brilliant lawyers of Esquire. The prosecutor Walker assembles four assistant post masters to prove that Esquire’s Varga pin-ups “had gone too far in exploiting the...